Garda response to rape criticised

The way gardaí deal with rape victims leaves them feeling isolated, disengaged and frustrated with the justice system, which is contributing to declining rape detection rates by the Garda, according to the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland.

At the publication of a report on the issue yesterday, executive director Fiona Neary said public confidence in the legal system's tackling of sexual offences had been "rocked" in the past year.

The report, The Investigation of Sexual Violence, says that although one in five Irish women experiences some form of "contact" sexual violence as an adult, just 1 per cent of these incidents will end in a conviction, "with 95 per cent of cases reported to the gardaí falling out of the system prior to any adjudication by the courts.

"The result is that we in Ireland have the highest rate of attrition in rape cases compared to 20 of our European neighbours," the report says.

Using Garda statistics, it says that although the numbers of alleged acts of rape or sexual violence reported to the Garda increased from 370 in 2003 to 446 in 2004, the number of cases detected fell from 255 in 2002, to 163 in 2003 to 130 in 2004. "Between 2000 and 2004, the Garda detection rate appears to have suffered a veritable collapse."

The role of gardaí is "crucial", says the network, given their key function from complaint to prosection.

The report cites research by Dr Stephanie O'Keeffe of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency indicating that the few who reported a rape or sexual attack to the Garda, experienced scepticism and lack of information regarding their cases and frustration at how long the process took.

This was all contributing not just to people "dropping out" of taking their case to the courts, but also to a lesser quality of evidence being gathered for the prosecution.

The report calls for ongoing and monitored training for gardaí in sexual violence and its investigation; for all regions to have a specialist investigation facility for dealing with sexual violence; and for each victim to be assigned a dedicated sexual violence officer, specially trained for sexual assault.

Ms Neary described as "posturing" promises by political parties to increase Garda numbers. "Auction bidding to see who can be toughest on criminals will not deliver a difference in victims' experience of the legal process, nor an increase in convictions." Detective Supt John McCann, of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, welcomed the report.